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Friday, January 14, 2011

On the Forecast: Gameweek 23

Both will not be around to help their team

The first double gameweek of the season was done and dusted with Liverpool misery continues; Torres scored on Wednesday; Charlie Adam again hogged the bonus points; DJ Campbell struck the winning goal to become the highest point scorer for both fixtures; Gary Taylor-Fletcher scored the other goal in a 2-1 home win for The Tangerines;

My advice; transfer with caution as we approaching another Pools (Liver and Black) favourable double on gameweek 24 with Villa, Fulham, Man United & Wigan also got their own double; The normal On the Forecast column resume this week:-

Banker

WHAM vs ARS Wenger's boys will determine the fate of Avram Grant this weekend; After two lacklustre games, Arsenal big guns must be eager to put their season back on track so do the home side; They have a fair chance to punish the home side but I will not be so surprise if West Ham can hold them much longer than before but a tight win nonetheless to send Grant packing;

MANC vs WOL Fantasy darling prospect (Dzeko) will start this fixture with Tevez & Silva providing the ammunitions; I fear for Tevez output when everybody expect Dzeko to score more than two goals; My guess City will win it tight a la Blackpool win when the expected drubbing was way off (Remember Chelsea defeat last week?);

CHE vs BLA They really have to get moving after the shock loss to Wolves as Ancelotti ponders about the position of his star men (particularly Drogba & Malouda); I can't see Blackburn get something from this after knowing Chelsea scored seven goals in the FA Cup; Straight home win or else Ancelotti has to go;

Do you remember his Rovers days?

Tight (Derby)

BIR vs AST 2nd edition of Birmingham derby and with one point separating each other, anyone can register a victory; New boy Bentley will either share or take over the set piece duties from Seb Larsson as his transfer to Newcastle in doubt; Houllier need to use his current men to get something from their neighbor, not an easy task to deal with; Brums has the edge but draw is the likely result;

LIV vs EVE Revenge is on the cards as Everton edged their counterpart in the last Merseyside derby; King Kenny registered two losses in his two games in charge while Everton proved they can cope with the loss of Cahill and Yakubu (hell no, he goes on loan to Leicester;D); Liverpool stars need to pick themselves up without Gerrard while Everton attack seriously need to score some goals; High scoring draw for me;

SUN vs NEW - Highly volatile North-East derby and yet another revenge opportunity for The Black Cats after they were thrashed last time out; New hattrick hero Leon Best should lead the line if Carroll & Ameobi are not fit with ample assistance from captain Nolan and nice boy Barton; Sunderland have to contend with their attacking duo after Welbeck got injured but their defenders are in tip top form nonetheless; The Black Cats will get their revenge;

Who has the best trick this weekend?

Tricky

TOT vs MANU What can we say, Nani (set piece taker, winger, playmaker) versus VDV (spot kicks, free kick taker, playmaker) show; United current form show they are capable to prolong their undefeated status and in my opinion, Spurs can only draw this but not a bore stalemate of course; I see a thriller with non stop action but ends with a draw;

WIG vs FUL Roberto Martinez is a relief man after Nzogbia ended his suspension but Fulham just completed a thrashing in the FA Cup; New recruit Sidwell might solidify Fulham midfield while Wigan have the home advantage on their side; Both teams are interesting in term of attacking and a draw seems good to be true; I'm banking on the home win though;

STK vs BOL Both registered solid wins during the weekend FA Cup fixture; Defensive-wise Stoke have the edge than Bolton with the home ground advantage; Attacking wise Bolton two pronged strikers (Elmander & Davies) are better than The Potters; This one is very hard, I go with a general and famous assessment, a draw with both teams conceding ;D;

WBA vs BLP Fresh from completing a double against Liverpool since the 40s, Blackpool will fancy a win against their promotion counterpart while The Baggies are facing a premiership slump; For Blackpool, Adam and DJ Campbell are your main men; For West Brom, Brunt will hog the set piece duties while Odemwingie still struggling to be fit; For the fifth time in this column, I go with another draw with both teams conceding; The Premiership is a tough business you know...